The Last Marxist

Chris Cutrone

Originally published in Sublation Magazine, July 29, 2025.

I am writing with an appeal to the would-be “socialist intelligentsia.” — Hear me, oh people! My plea is earnest! I come with good news, for the day is upon us! Hallelujah! It is time for socialism!

* * *

The Millennial Left tried to constitute itself through several attempts at “unity”: Left unity, Marxist unity, and class unity. The last is perhaps the most promising, but even it foundered on the question of what “class”: was it a PMC project in the end, despite not wanting to be so? Left unity couldn’t distinguish itself from “progressive liberal” capitalist politics — the conventional meaning of “Left”; and Marxist unity turned “Marxism” itself into a fierce bone of contention, never to be resolved.

It is time, now that all alternatives have failed, finally, for socialist unity. What would this mean? First of all, commitment to overcoming capitalism: a permanent “blood” oath not to accept any politics that does not have this as its aim — and refusing to pursue any other politics but socialist politics: giving ourselves totally, in a political sense, to this task.

But might we disagree on the meaning of capitalism and hence the meaning of socialism? Yes. But no matter: we will work out the meaning of both socialism and capitalism in practice — not ahead of time “theoretically.”

If so, then what will we collaborate on, in this “socialist unity”? Anything and everything that empowers the working class: socially, economically, politically. What does “empower” mean — and what does “working class” mean? I think we already know: anyone who has to work: who is not a proprietor, employer or boss. What kind of work? Any and all — but especially the work that produces the means of subsistence, of consumption and production: in all sectors and industries, the workers who enable and support others in their work. Everyone who contributes to the reproduction of labor and laborers, individually and collectively. What would it mean to empower them? To build up and develop the working class’s capacity to act independently, as a working class, socially, politically and economically.  The end goal is an old one: “those who labor must rule.” Its necessity must be realized.

An expansive rather than narrow definition of labor is advantageous, politically, and fulfills our aspiration: to achieve a socialist politics of labor. The working class has yet to be defined, politically — even economically: it has yet to be brought into existence as such. As things are, there are workers but no working class: only socialism can bring it about.

We are starting out at a very preliminary stage in such an effort: We must create the bare rudiments and elements of a socialist movement of the working class.

We start with the intent: to build a socialist politics.

How to begin doing so? We must not be oriented by the conflicts and divisions within capitalist politics, but cut across them — and thus separate the working class into a force of its own.

We must not exclude anyone on merely “moral” grounds: rights and sins are not really in conflict; and what the capitalist state and its politics call “crimes” is often a matter of practical exigency and hypocritical convenience in capitalism — especially for the working class. Let the capitalist politicians debate the number of angels or devils on the head of a pin — let them demagogue their laws on specious “moral” grounds. The working class will always do what is necessary to survive. Allow everyone’s freedom of religion and ethical autonomy without guardianship: the workers don’t want to be anyone’s wards.

Issues which do not unify the working class as socialists must be accepted for what they are: real disagreements which we may not resolve immediately — perhaps ever. For example, socialist unity means including workers on both “sides” of the pro- and anti-abortion debate in seeking to empower the full and true reproductive freedom of the working class. There must be empowerment to have children or not as people see fit. No cookie-cutter solution will ever provide true freedom or justice.

Empowerment to social and political action means: political, economic and social freedom — self-determination and democracy; but: it also means civil liberties — minority and individual rights, against the state and against majorities. The working class cannot be corralled if it is to achieve socialism; otherwise, its freedom and interests will always be sacrificed to the necessities of capitalism.

Let the capitalist politicians fund and grant public welfare benefits and other provisions and infrastructure if they so wish and see fit, but have it taken out of the profits of capital, not taxed from the wages of labor or consumption purchases. It is their concern, not ours. We expect and rely on nothing from them. “Not one person or penny for this system!”

The working class must champion everyone’s rights if its own are to be preserved and advanced. Such rights are not already firmly established once and for all, but are constantly in the process of asserting themselves and emerging into recognition: we cannot know ahead of time what new needs and rights the workers will have moving forward; we can only know that they will have them. Much is already common sense, but this is constantly evolving. In order to allow such freedom to develop, socialists must defend every right the workers might assert, and encourage and facilitate achieving them in practice.

The current framework of politics and law in capitalism is severely limited, and geared to other needs: the needs and “rights” of capital. But the workers depend on capital and capitalism: their contradiction must be brought about; for now there is an apparent identity of interests — which capitalist politics exploits. The workers are bound to support capitalism out of self-interest.

We do not start with “anti-capitalism” — which would make no more sense than being anti-God. The working class must earn for itself the right and the necessity to overcome capital. Otherwise, the capitalists will always be able to confront them with the limitations of necessity — the need to sacrifice themselves for the greater interest in capital.

But because capital has contradictory interests, the working class is divided against itself: we are liable to be divided over them. Indeed, we start out divided on this basis. The working class is divided by capital. Their unity can only come about on the basis of the struggle for socialism — which means the task of overcoming their divisions. As socialists, we must not play into capitalist separation of the workers, preventing the working class from coming into existence.

In short, we must earn the right to be socialists. None of us have it to begin with. We are by default capitalists — capitalist politicians. Do we wish to remain as such? We must begin again.

This is the true task in which we are unified: the need for socialist politics is what produces the necessity of socialist unity.

This is what I had to tell you. — The rest will be history.

Socialists of the world, unite!

* * *

Recall:

Campaign for a socialist party in the U.S.

11 Theses

1.) We are exploring interest in starting a mass socialist political party in the U.S.

2.) Mass = more than a sect (small or large); Socialist = more than merely democratic or liberal; Political = going beyond social and economic actions, including but not primarily or limited to holding political office; Party = more than a movement or organization.

3.) This will be an unprecedented undertaking, and in many respects the first real political party in the U.S. — The only precedents are the old pre-World War I Socialist Party of America and, before that, the Republican Party of the mid-19th century.

4.) We want to include as much of the present avowed Left as possible, from liberals to anarchists; we find the existing Left to consist of talented organizers and thinkers, but they need a new and different context to be effective; now they are condemned to ineffectiveness — or to more or less support the Democrats.

5.) We are looking ahead to a decades-long, painstaking and patient but deliberate and serious process; the building of a mass socialist political party will fundamentally alter the political but also the social landscape in the U.S. and internationally — globally.

6.) The aim is to take governing power in the U.S. — This does not preclude and indeed aims at doing so in direct political cooperation with similar parties taking power in other countries.

7.) Now, in 2016, is a good time to begin this project, because of the disarray of the existing parties as well as of society. There is a window of opportunity with a new generation to embark on a political task and possibility that has been avoided since the 1960s New Left and also avoided since the 1930s Old Left — both of which were conditioned and distorted by the gravitational attraction of the Democratic Party as well as the dynamics of anti-Communism and the Cold War. We are past this now and so can proceed to build socialist politics free of such pressures.

8.) The Sanders campaign is a distraction from this task because it is a desperate attempt to reform the Democrats which will not happen; and even if it did, would not lead to socialism in any way.

9.) All existing Left social, economic, civic, legal and political activism — of all kinds — should be conducted under the political banner of the struggle for socialism. We need to make all these disparate struggles coherent for any of them to be effective. Such struggles should take place in and through a socialist party.

10.) In the immediate future, the goal is to reconfigure U.S. politics in terms amenable to a socialist Left: the Republicans should be the capitalist party; the Democrats should be the party of middle-class democracy. A socialist party should be for the working class in its struggle for socialism.

11.) Socialism will be the realization of the social potential made possible — but held back — by capitalism. We need a party to pursue the politics of this task. — Join us!

February 28, 2016